Invasion of Afghanistan

The Invasion of Afghanistan was a US-led invasion of Afghanistan which occurred after the 9/11 attacks in late 2001. The US-led coalition sought to dismantle al-Qaeda, destroy its bases in Afghanistan, and remove their Taliban allies from power, and, with the help of the Northern Alliance opposition, they successfully ousted the Taliban. The coalition created an Afghan interim administration, and the Taliban began an insurgency against Hamid Karzai's new Afghan government and the occupying coalition forces.

Afghan Civil War
Following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989 and the overthrow of the communist government in 1992, the country entered a state of civil war as rival warlords vied for power. In 1996, the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban movement, backed by Pakistan, rose to power after capturing the capital of Kabul. The Taliban implemented a strict interpretation of sharia law and empowered the Sunni Muslim Pashtun majority of the country, while they fought in a sectarian conflict against the Hazaras, Tajiks, and other minority groups from the north of the country. The minority groups and moderate Pashtuns formed the Northern Alliance, but the Taliban were in control of 90% of the country by 2001. The Taliban had another powerful backer in Osama Bin Laden, a Saudi billionaire and jihadist who had fought in the foreign Mujahideen during the war with the Soviets. Osama sought to wage jihad against Western influences in the Muslim world, and he funded Islamic fundamentalist groups such as the Taliban; in exchange, the Taliban gave his al-Qaeda group sanctuary in Afghanistan. al-Qaeda set up training camps and imported foreign fighters, many of whom reinforced the Taliban during the Afghan Civil War, and up to 20,000 men passed through these camps as of 2001. In 1998, al-Qaeda bombed two US embassies in East Africa, leading to President Bill Clinton ordering airstrikes on al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. In 1999, the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on the Taliban due to their support for Bin Laden. The US government began to support the Northern Alliance against the Taliban in August 2001, and the Northern Alliance led a spirited fightback under Ahmad Shah Massoud. Massoud won international support due to his support for women's rights, his creation of a democratic Loya Jirga council, and for his statement that al-Qaeda and Taliban had very wrong perceptions of Islam. He also warned of an imminent large-scale attack on US soil, but he was killed in a suicide bombing on 9 September 2001.

9/11 and aftermath
On 11 September 2001, al-Qaeda carried out four coordinated aircraft hijackings in the United States. Two planes crashed into both towers of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, New York City, while another crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia; the fourth one, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania after the passengers attempted to wrest control of the plane from the hijackers (who intended to attack the US Capitol). The attacks killed 2,996 people and injured more than 6,000, and terrorist groups such as the PFLP and the Taliban condemned the attacks. The Taliban leader, Mohammed Omar, denied that Bin Laden was behind the attacks, although the US government blamed al-Qaeda and resolved to ensure that al-Qaeda would no longer be safe in its harbors. On 14 September, the government demanded that the Taliban surrender all known al-Qaeda associates in Afghanistan, but the Taliban refused to hand over Bin Laden without being provided with proof of his role in the attacks. On 20 September, President George W. Bush threatened war against the Taliban if they refused to hand over Bin Laden, and the Taliban responded with defiance in a statement on 21 September. On 1 October, Mullah Omar agreed to have Bin Laden taken to Peshawar, Pakistan to be held under house arrest before he could face a sharia trial, but the international community criticized the Taliban for stalling, and President Bush decided to invade Afghanistan with support from the United Kingdom and other US allies.

Bombing campaign
On 7 October 2001, the US officially launched military operations in Afghanistan. Airstrikes were reported at the Kabul airport, at Kandahar, and in Jalalabad, and both Bush and Blair addressed their respective nations about the strikes. Most of the Taliban's outdated SAM missiles and radar and command units were destroyed on the first night of airstrikes, along with the Taliban's small air fleet. Apache helicopter gunships destroyed Taliban air defenses and training camps, and US aircraft also bombed the 055 Brigade garrison near Mazar-i-Sharif. President Bush gave the Taliban one last warning to hand over Bin Laden, but they insisted that he stop the bombing campaign and allow Bin Laden a fair trial, leading to Bush declaring his offer to be non-negotiable and the USA and Britain committing themselves to the invasion.

Ground invasion
On the night of 19 October 2001, 200 US Army Rangers parachuted onto a landing strip south of Kandahar following a stealth bomber attack. They secured the objective after sporadic resistance, killing just one Taliban fighter. Air support fended off any incoming Taliban forces, and these soldiers - the first ground forces in the country - set up FOB Rhino. At the same time, Delta Force raided Mullah Omar's summer retreat in the hills above Kandahar, but there was no sign of Mullah Omar. Instead, they found themselves attacked by several Taliban forces, and they killed 30 Taliban, while 12 Delta Force operatives were wounded. The Taliban response led to Delta Force aborting its plan to set up a reconnaissance team at the site.

On 20 October, horseback-mounted US operatives began to support Abdul Rashid Dostum's Northern Alliance forces against the Taliban, guiding smart bombs against their targets. Two weeks into the campaign, the air campaign began to target the Taliban front lines, assisting the Northern Alliance forces. At the beginning of November, the US utilized daisy cutter bombs and AC-130 gunships to attack the Taliban front lines, and the Taliban positions had been devastated by 2 November. On 10 November, President Bush addressed the United Nations and warned that not only was the US in danger of further attacks, but so were all other countries in the world, and Germany, France, Italy, Japan, and other countries pledged material assistance. The US also began to heavily bomb the Tora Bora mountains, which were believed to be an al-Qaeda stronghold.

On 9 November, Northern Alliance forces began their assault on the transportation hub of Mazar-i-Sharif, seizing the city's main military base and airport. The 2,000 Northern Alliance fighters were assisted by contingents of US special forces, and they utilized close air support to destroy armor and vehicles. After 90 minutes, the city was liberated, providing a body blow to the Taliban and shocking even CENTCOM, which predicted that the city would not fall until 2002. 1,000 troops from the US 10th Mountain Division were airlifted into the city to protect it against a potential Taliban counterattack, and the US Air Force flew in both humanitarian aid and military supplies to the city. At the same time, the Americans and Northern Alliance secured Bagram Airfield after a massive battle.

On the night of 12 November, the Taliban fled the capital of Kabul under the cover of darkness, and the only fighting in the city took place in the city's park, where 20 Taliban fighters attempted to hold out against the attacking Allied forces. Within 24 hours of Kabul's fall, the Iranian border provinces were sealed off, with Herat also falling to UK and US special forces and the Northern Alliance. Local Pashtun warlords took over northeastern Afghanistan, including Jalalabad, and Taliban holdouts in the north fell back to Kunduz. On 16 November, the 10,000-strong Taliban garrison of Kunduz came under attack. Surviving Taliban and al-Qaeda members also fell back to the birthplace of the Taliban, Kandahar, or towards the Tora Bora mountains. By 13 November, 2,000 al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters fortified themselves in Tora Bora, and the US and local warlords planned an attack.

Fall of Kandagar
On 13 November, a platoon of Rangers parachuted to the southwest of Kandahar, and US helicopters destroyed a Taliban compound near the city. Meanwhile, between 14 and 16 November, al-Qaeda leader Mohammed Atef was killed in a bombing at his Kabul home. On 14 November, Hamid Karzai and a detachment of US soldiers inserted into Uruzgan Province and entered the town of Tarin Kowt, which had been liberated in a revolt against the Taliban occupiers. The allies repelled a Taliban counterattack with air support, and Karzai rounded up 800 soldiers and prepared for the assault on Kandahar.

After eleven days of fighting, Kunduz buckled under the siege, and the Taliban garrison surrendered. However, Pakistani aircraft arrived to evacuate intelligence and military personnel who had been aiding the Taliban against the Northern Alliance, and they ultimately evacuated 5,000 people, including al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters. Kunduz's fall ended the Taliban resistance in the north.

The British SAS launched their largest operation in history, Operation Trent, when they assaulted a Taliban opium compound, doing so under direct orders from Prime Minister Blair. On 25 November, a revolt by 600 Taliban and al-Qaeda prisoners at the Qala-i-Jangi prison led to the terrorists seizing control of the city, including a medieval fortress and an armory. A CIA operative was killed during the revolt, marking the first US combat death during the war. With the help of US AC-130 gunships and Northern Alliance tanks, the revolt was crushed after seven days, and only 86 of the 600 Taliban and al-Qaeda rebels survived. With the revolt suppressed, it ended the northern theater of the war.

By the end of November, with the fall of the Sayyd Alma Kalay bridge, Kandahar was the Taliban's last stronghold. 3,000 Northern Alliance fighters cut off the city's supply lines, and, on 24 November, US special forces established covert operations posts, allowing them to call in devastating fire on Taliban positions. Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 US Marine Corps soldiers set up FOB Rhino, and 15 Taliban armored vehicles were destroyed by US aircraft as they attempted to recapture the airstrip. The city was bombed repeatedly, and, on 6 December 2001, Karzai - who was informed that he would be the next President of Afghanistan - negotiated the surrender of the Taliban forces in the city. On 7 December, the Kandahar airport fell, but Mohammed Omar and a small group of fighters escaped the city and reneged on the promise to surrender. Many Taliban leaders fled to Pakistan through remote border passes, and the Taliban abandoned Kandahar, which fell to the US-led forces.

Escape of Bin Laden
With the fall of Kabul and Kandahar, Bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders withdrew to Jalalabad in Nangarhar Province, from where they moved into the Tora Bora mountains 12 miles from the Pakistani border. They slipped into a network of caves and prepared defenses used by the Mujahideen during the Soviet war, and the White House and Pentagon decided to strike and destroy the al-Qaeda elements rather than send in conventional troops and repeat the Soviets' mistakes. On 12 December, the frustrated Northern Alliance forces declared a truce with the Taliban, as they agreed with al-Qaeda to allow for Bin Laden to convene a shura to agree to surrender terms. However, several hundred al-Qaeda and 055 Brigade members escaped to Pakistan during the night, and, the following day, Bin Laden partially carried out his promise; he gave a small rearguard force his blessing to surrender, having himself escaped on 16 December. An estimated 200 al-Qaeda fighters were killed during the operation, along with an unknown number of tribal fighters. On 20 December, the UN authorized an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to help the new Afghan government maintain security, and the World Food Programme resumed its humanitarian aid missions. In 2002, the Taliban began an insurgency against the new Afghan government, funded by the opium harvest, and the unconventional Afghanistan War began.